IN BRIEF: Intel Teams Up with Taiwanese Makers to Tap Digital Signage Market.

Typical signages both indoor and outdoor may no longer attract a lot of attention or may even be considered as boring. According to market researchers, the future is all about interactive digital signages and Intel Corp., along with Taiwanese Advantech, AU Optronics and Qisda, have formed a joint venture, Digital Signage SIG, to tap the global market for such products, according to Taiwan Economic News.

DS SIG noted that digital signages are used in public spaces as a new outdoor advertising display, of which contents can be changed easier and shown in either animations or images to entertain and advertise better than traditional banners. In fact, ad via the electronic product has proven efficient to arouse consumer demand and drive up sales of products in connection with the billboard by about 30%. Additionally, digital signages can pass information to consumers more efficiently.

According to market tracker iSuppli, the demand for digital signages is expected to sustain a strong annual growth of over 30% between 2005 and 2010, when the products will totally substitute conventional large-sized signages as typical outdoor advertising tools on the globe.

Intel reportedly projects that in 2015 there will be more than 15 million units of embedded device servers worldwide, with digital signages to serve as a major growth drive for demand for the products. In other words, application of digital signages will open a new window for display panel makers to carve out new niches, in addition to current TVs and PCs.